The year 1968 has become a central myth for the twentieth century, thepurported moment of origin for "the present" -- for current politics,culture, and academics.

This conference commemorates the 40th anniversary of 1968 by calling for areassessment of its local and global impacts, its icons, myths, and images,the traces and absences left in its wake, and the intellectual and culturalheritages that we are still working through, as the collective memory ofparticipants fades into a post-memory of still-incomplete projects ofmodernization, globalization, and liberation.

The conference aims at an inter-disciplinary address to the many different1968 experiences and projects that can be recovered in global, national,and international frameworks. Flashpoints, major players, artisticresponses in all media and genres, and (re)theorizing about 1968 and itsheritage are all possible themes for conference participation (see the listbelow for initial suggestions). Participation is open to scholars from alldisciplines and national/cultural studies areas, and at all levels.

The conference will highlight several keynote speakers, including prominentpublic voices, intellectuals, theorists, artists, and academics. Nameswill be announced in subsequent mailings.

Several programs are being organized for the week around the centerpieceacademic conference and public lectures. Tentative plans include:

Proposals are invited for 20-minute papers that explore the repercussionsof this important year, and that draw connections between 1968 and thepresent politically, culturally, and socially. A list of possible topicsis appended below.

Submit your abstract of 150-250 words in an email (no attachments) to<1968conference_at_gmail.com> by 1 May 2008, along with a brief biographicalstatement (max. 250 words) that can be used to introduce you. Please put"ABSTRACT: 1968 Conference" in the header of your email. Full panels ofthree papers may also be proposed (please submit all papers and biographiestogether in a single email), but there will be no guarantee that they willbe accepted as stands.

There are no registration fees for this conference, but attendees who arenot giving papers will be encouraged to register for the mailing list atthe same address. Please put "INFORMATION REQUEST: 1968 Conference" inthe header of your email. A block of rooms will be reserved at a localhotel for participants' convenience; flop space will be arranged by andfor graduate students.

For all information, consult the website at: < http://www.1968conf.org>,which will be updated with the very latest at all points. In the case ofmissing information, contact the organizing committee at<1968conference_at_gmail.com>.

*1968 in Theory*1968 in collective imaginaries(The) Cultural Revolution(s)Global simultaneity: cross-cultural resonancesEmergent and ongoing feminist projectsLiberation TheologyDefining liberation then and nowNation-states and 1968Organized labor and liberation"The Revolution will not be televised"